<p>Hi, I've been accepted to Arcadia University, Ithaca College, UMASS Amherst, College of Saint Rose, UCONN, and Fordham University.
I plan on studying Communications/ Broadcast Journalism and in the near future, minoring in Political Science.
Thoughts?
Thank you!</p>
<p>Any cost restrictions? What is the net cost for you at each? How much debt would you be in at each school?</p>
<p>Well my decisions will ultimately come down to cost. All but Saint Rose are extremely pricey. However, as I haven’t received any financial aid packages yet, I’m trying to narrow down my choices through other factors. </p>
<p>Have you visited all of them? Have you made any preferences in terms of fit and location after making those visits (if you visited)?</p>
<p>Well, I think Fordham’s on the lower side of my list due to how Urban it is. I liked UMASS although it is VERY large. Ithaca and UCONN were fine but nothing really jumped out at me. The other two I have not visited. Honestly, all the visits kind of melted together after a while haha</p>
<p>haha, makes sense (about the visits kind of melting together). I think the decision will be easier to make once you receive all your financial packages</p>
<p>Go onto the website and run NPCs(Net Price Calculators) to get predictions of your FA packages.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a good idea to narrow down at this point. What’s the point of narrowing down now? You may eliminate your only affordable school. lol</p>
<p>Did you run the NPCs? If not, do so.</p>
<p>How much have your parents said that they’ll pay each year? </p>
<p>You have at least one OOS public on your list. OOS publics may not give you much/any aid. They’re also expensive.</p>
<p>One thing to consider about UMass Amherst is that it’s part of the 5-college consortium. So you can easily take classes at Amherst College, Smith, Mount Holyoke, or Hampshire. Plus socialize at those places.</p>
<p>Other than running the NPCs for a guesstimate about aid, until you have your aid packages in hand you don’t know which (if any) of these will be affordable. I know it is hard to keep waiting, put please to that. You do not want to decide that X is so much worse than Y and Z that you would definitely choose Y or Z over it only to find out a couple of weeks from now that X is the only affordable place.</p>
<p>That said, when the offers start rolling in, here is a handy calculator that you can use to help sort out the good aid offers from the not-so-good ones. You will notice that is has lines for other types of information as well.
<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid;
<p>For what it’s worth, Ithaca is very good (and well-known) for communications. I’d pick UConn over UMassAmherst unless you got into UMass Honors. Fordham is urban but has a nice campus and is well-located… which is why it’s likely to be the most expensive among those.
And NONE of these schools is worth getting into more debt than the federal loans ($5,500 for freshmen). So run the NPC’s and see which ones are affordable. Talk with your parents.</p>
<p>I am paying in entirety for my own college education, so of course my decision is ultimately coming down to financial aid. It does make sense though that I should wait until I get my packages before I start eliminating schools. Thank you everyone for your posts!!</p>
<p>Undoubtedly University of Connecticut. First of all, it’s a school that is increasingly climbing up the ranks in their academic reputation. Beautiful campus, strong honors program, and an interesting and diverse student life. </p>
<p>When you say “I am paying in entirety for my own college education”, do you mean that you’re in foster care or married or that you’re older and have worked for the past couple years to save money to pay for college?
If you’re a “typical” student, ie, under age 24 and unmarried, your parents’ EFC is what most universities use as a reference point. Are your parents unable/unwilling to contribute their EFC or is your EFC zero?
Will you be getting merit scholarships? Have you applied for full tuition/full rides?</p>
<p>My EFC is only about 300 to begin with however, my parents have told me that they will not be helping me pay for college. I have received merit scholarships from all the schools at an average of $12,000 and I have applied to a full ride to Ithaca. </p>
<p>I should have rephrased that. I am paying the cost of my tuition and board after financial aid and merit scholarships, etc. </p>
<p>If your EFC is only $300, look into schools that meet all demonstrated interest.</p>
<p>If you have a full ride to Ithaca, go there. Its Communication program is excellent and in your circumstances that’s probably what will help you the most ultimately, especially if you try to get experience and must pay rent in the city (hopefully you’ll get a paid internship!) Of course if you get a near-full ride elsewhere the circumstances become different.
if your parents’ EFC is 300 you should be able to cover it and if you’re a top candidate hopefully merit + need(based aid will be sufficient (the colleges you applied to do not promise to meet need.)
(Some kids have parents EFC $30,000 and their parents won’t help. 
So the kids are boxed in a corner. $300 parental contribution can be figured out.)
have you applied RD to any meet-full-need schools? If so, and you’re admitted, you’re likely to get a full-ride there too.
What a wonderful problem to have, imagine: if you had to choose between different full rides at schools you really like and are all good at what you want to major in!</p>
<p>I will definitely go to Ithaca if I get the full ride! I have to wait another month or so before I hear of their decision, though. I’ve heard amazing things about the Park School of Communications, though. </p>
<p>
Proving that no one can really tell you what school is best for you, especially when you haven’t stated what criteria are important to you, one could say, just as accurately, “UConn is a school that is in the middle of nowhere. Gigantic and impersonal. Huge party scene. Seen as a continuation of high school for many there.” The schools you’ve listed are very different from one another, ranging from small LAC’s to big publics, from rural to urban. It’s hard to guess why you applied to all of them, so even harder to offer any thoughts on where you should attend. Once you have your FA packages in hand and can do some serious narrowing, attendance at accepted students days may be a good way to help you decide. </p>
<p>I’ll add that if that’s your real photo, you should change your thumbnail, especially if that’s also your real name. You should be as anonymous as possible on a public forum.</p>